SIMPLE FUTURE

Verb Tenses: The Simple Future

SIMPLE FUTURE

Simple future, form

The 'simple' future is composed of two parts: will / shall + the infinitive without 'to'

Subject	will	>infinitive without to
He	will	leave...

>Affirmative
I	will	go
I	shall	go
>Negative
They	will not	see
They	won't	see
>Interrogative
Will	she	ask?
>Interrogative negative
Won't	she	take?

>Contractions
I will  I'll	We will  we'll
You will  you'll	You will  you'll
He,she, will he'll, she'll	They will  they'll

>NOTE: The form 'it will' is not normally shortened.

>Example: to see, simple future

>Affirmative	>Negative	>Interrogative
I'll see	I won't see	Will I see?
*I will / shall see	I shan't see	Shall I see?
You'll see	You won't see	Will you see?
He, she, it will see	He won't see	Will she see?
We'll see	We won't see	Will we see?
*We will / shall see	We shan't see	Shall we see?
You will see	You won't see	Will you see?
They'll see	They won't see	Will they see?

>*NOTE: shall is slightly dated but can be used instead of will with I or we.

>Simple future, function

The simple future refers to a time later than now, and expresses facts or certainty. In this case there is no 'attitude'.

The simple future is used:

• to predict a future event: 
  It will rain tomorrow.
• (with I/we) to express a spontaneous decision: 
  I'll pay for the tickets by credit card.
• to express willingness: 
  I'll do the washing-up. He'll carry your bag for you.
• (in the negative form) to express unwillingness: 
  The baby won't eat his soup. 
  I won't leave until I've seen the manager!
• (with I in the interrogative form) to make an offer: 
  Shall I open the window?
• (with we in the interrogative form) to make a suggestion: 
  Shall we go to the cinema tonight?
• (with I in the interrogative form) to ask for advice or instructions: 
  What shall I tell the boss about this money?
• (with you) to give orders: 
  You will do exactly as I say.
• ((with you) to give an invitation: 
  Will you come to the dance with me? Will you marry me?

NOTE: In modern English will is preferred to shall.

Shall is mainly used with I and we to make an offer or suggestion (see examples (e) and (f) above, or to ask for advice (example (g) above).
With the other persons (you, he, she, they) shall is only used in literary or poetic situations, e.g.

• "With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, She shall have music wherever she goes."

FUTURE FORMS

Verb Tenses: Future Forms Introduction

FUTURE FORMS

Introduction

There are a number of different ways of referring to the future in English. It is important to remember that we are expressing more than simply the time of the action or event. Obviously, any 'future' tense will always refer to a time 'later than now', but it may also express our attitude to the future event.

All of the following ideas can be expressed using different tenses:

• Simple prediction
• Arrangements
• Plans and intentions
• Time-tabled events
• Prediction based on present evidence
• Willingness
• An action in progress in the future
• An action or event that is a matter of routine
• Obligation
• An action or event that will take place immediately or very soon
• Projecting ourselves into the future and looking back at a completed action.

The example sentences below correspond to the ideas above:

• There will be snow in many areas tomorrow.
• I'm meeting Jim at the airport.
• We're going to spend the summer abroad.
• The plane takes off at 3 a.m.
• I think it's going to rain!
• We'll give you a lift to the cinema.
• This time next week I'll be sun-bathing.
• h. You'll be seeing John in the office tomorrow, won't you?
• You are to travel directly to London.
• The train is about to leave.
• A month from now he will have finished all his exams.

It is clear from these examples that several tenses are used to express the future. The sections that follow show the form and function of each of these tenses.

Verb Tenses: Past Perfect Continuous

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Past Perfect Continuous Form

The past perfect continuous is composed of two elements - the past perfect of the verb to be (=had been) + the present participle (base+ing).

Examples

Subject	had been	verb-ing
I	had been	walking

Affirmative
She	had been	trying
Negative
We	hadn't been	sleeping
Interrogative
Had you	been	eating
Interrogative negative
Hadn't they	been	living

Example: to buy, past perfect continuous

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I had been buying	I hadn't been buying	Had I been buying?
You had been buying	You hadn't been buying	Had you been buying
He,she,it had been buying	He hadn't been buying	Had she been buying?
We had been buying	We hadn't been buying	Had we been buying?
You had been buying	You hadn't been buying	Had you been buying
They had been buying	They hadn't been buying	Had they been buying

Past Perfect Continuous: Function

The past perfect continuous corresponds to the present perfect continuous, but with reference to a time earlier than 'before now'. Again, we are more interested in the process.

Examples

• Had you been waiting long before the taxi arrived?
• We had been trying to open the door for five minutes when Jane found her key.
• It had been raining hard for several hours and the streets were very wet.
• Her friends had been thinking of calling the police when she walked in.

This form is also used in reported speech. It is the equivalent of the past continuous and the present perfect continuous in direct speech:

• Jane said "I have been gardening all afternoon."  Jane said she had been gardening all afternoon.
• When the police questioned him, John said "I was working late in the office that night."  When the police questioned him, John told them he had been working late in the office that night.

Verb Tenses: Past Continuous

PAST CONTINOUS

Past continuous - form

The past continuous of any verb is composed of two parts : the past tense of the verb to be (was/were), and the base of the main verb +ing.

Subject	was/were	base-ing
They	were	watching

Affirmative
She	was	reading
Negative
She	wasn't	reading
Interrogative
Was	she	reading?
Interrogative negative
Wasn't	she	reading?

Example: to play, past continuous

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I was playing	I was not playing	Was I playing?
You were playing	You were not playing	Were you playing?
He, she, it was playing	She wasn't playing	Was she playing?
We were playing	We weren't playing	Were we playing?
You were playing	You weren't playing	Were you playing?
They were playing	They weren't playing	Were they playing?

Past continuous, function

The past continuous describes actions or events in a time before now, which began in the past and was still going on at the time of speaking. In other words, it expresses anunfinished or incomplete action in the past.

It is used:

• often, to describe the background in a story written in the past tense, e.g. "The sunwas shining and the birds were singing as the elephant came out of the jungle. The other animals were relaxing in the shade of the trees, but the elephant moved very quickly. She was looking for her baby, and she didn't notice the hunter who was watching her through his binoculars. When the shot rang out, she was running towards the river..."
• to describe an unfinished action that was interrupted by another event or action, e.g. "I was having a beautiful dream when the alarm clock rang."
• to express a change of mind: e.g. "I was going to spend the day at the beach but I've decided to go on an excursion instead."
• with 'wonder', to make a very polite request: e.g. "I was wondering if you could baby-sit for me tonight."

More examples

• They were waiting for the bus when the accident happened.
• Caroline was skiing when she broke her leg.
• When we arrived he was having a bath.
• When the fire started I was watching television.

Note: with verbs not normally used in the continuous form, the simple past is used. See list in Present continuous

Verb Tenses: The Past Perfect

PAST PERFECT

Past perfect, form

The Past Perfect tense in English is composed of two parts: the past tense of the verb to have (had) + the past participle of the main verb.

Subject	had	past participle
We	had	decided...
Affirmative
She	had	given.
Negative
We	hadn't	asked.
Interrogative
Had	they	arrived?
Interrogative negative
Hadn't	you	finished?

Example: to decide, Past perfect

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I had decided	I hadn't decided	Had I decided?
You had decided	You hadn't decided	Had you decided?
He, she, it had decided	He hadn't decided	Had she decided?
We had decided	We hadn't decided	Had we decided?
You had decided	You hadn't decided	Had you decided?
They had decided	They hadn't decided	Had they decided?

Past perfect, function

The past perfect refers to a time earlier than before now. It is used to make it clear that one event happened before another in the past. It does not matter which event is mentioned first - the tense makes it clear which one happened first.

In these examples, Event A is the first or earliest event, Event B is the second or latest event:

Event B Event B

a.	John had gone out	when I arrived in the office.
	Event A	Event B
b.	I had saved my document	before the computer crashed.
	Event A
c.	When they arrived	we had already started cooking
	Event B	Event A
d.	He was very tired	because he hadn't slept well.
	Event B	Event A

Past perfect + just

'Just' is used with the past perfect to refer to an event that was only a short time earlier than before now, e.g.

• The train had just left when I arrived at the station.
• She had just left the room when the police arrived.
• I had just put the washing out when it started to rain